Ohio sheriff convicted for demanding that addresses of people with Harris signs be recorded

An Ohio sheriff is under fire for a social media post in which he demanded that the addresses of people holding Kamala Harris signs be registered so that immigrants could be sent to them if the Democrat wins the presidential election. Good governance groups called it a threat and called on him to remove the post.

Portage County Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski, a Republican in the midst of his own re-election campaign, posted a screenshot of a Fox News segment criticizing Democratic President Joe Biden and Vice President Harris over their immigration record and the impact on small communities like Springfield, Ohio, where an influx of Haitian migrants has caused a political fury in the presidential election campaign.

On his personal and campaign Facebook accounts, Zuchowski compared people living illegally in the United States to “human locusts,” writing, “When people ask me… What will happen if the fickle, laughing hyena wins? Then I say… write down all the addresses of the people who had their signs in their yards!” That way, Zuchowski continued, “if the migrants need shelter, we already have the addresses of their new families… who supported their arrival!”

Local Democrats filed complaints with the Ohio Secretary of State and other agencies, as well as the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio. wrote to Zuchowski that he had made an unconstitutional, “illegal threat” against residents who wanted to put up political signs.

Many residents understood the Sept. 13 billboard post as a “threat of government action to punish them for their political beliefs” and felt compelled to take down their billboards or not put them up, said Freda J. Levenson, legal director of the ACLU of Ohio. She called on Zuchowski to take down the billboard and arrange for it to be removed.

Republican Governor Mike DeWine, meanwhile, called Zuchowski's comments “regrettable” and “unhelpful.”

Zuchowski defended himself in a follow-up post this week, saying he was exercising his right to free speech and that his comments “may have been a little misunderstood??” He said voters could elect whoever they wanted as president but then had to “take responsibility for their actions.”

Zuchowski, a supporter of former President Donald Trump, spent 26 years with the Ohio State Highway Patrol, including as deputy post commander. Before being elected to the top job in 2020, he worked as a part-time deputy in the sheriff's office. He is running for re-election as the top law enforcement officer of Portage County in northeast Ohio, about an hour outside of Cleveland.

The sheriff did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday. His Democratic opponent in the November election, Jon Barber, said Zuchowski's post constituted “voter intimidation” and undermined trust in law enforcement.

The Ohio Secretary of State's office said no action was planned.

“Our office has determined that the sheriff's comments do not violate election laws,” said Dan Lusheck, a spokesman for Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose. “Elected officials are accountable to their constituents, and the sheriff can answer for himself about the content of his comments.”

The League of Women Voters, a good governance group, did not like that. Two of the league's Portage County chapters wrote to LaRose on Thursday saying his inaction had left voters “feeling abandoned and unprotected.” The league invited LaRose to come to Portage County to speak to residents.

“We are simply asking Secretary LaRose to reassure voters of the integrity of the election process,” said Sherry Rose, president of the League of Women Voters of Kent, in a phone interview. She said the league has received reports that some people with Harris rallies have been harassed since Zuchowski's post.